Integrates mathematics and science by investigating the scientific application of the Polynomial Difference Theorem using data points from an experiment. Utilizes the different capabilities of the graphing calculator to investigate a problem whose solution is a second degree equation and makes connections between the mathematical concepts involved…

Discusses factors that influence the shapes of houses built in different cultures. Poses the problem of building a house with optimal floor space given a fixed amount of material for the walls. Discusses students' findings, questions raised during group discussions, and mathematical concepts utilized to solve the problem. (MDH)

Combining both the Western perspective of creativity as productivity and the Eastern perspective of creativity as enlightenment, a Program for Enlightened and Productive Creativity (PEPC) for teaching inquiry was devised. The PEPC describes stages through which a student is guided to solve a problem using increasingly complex observation, inquiry,…

The "ISSS Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. (Individual papers contain references.) [For the 2011 proceedings, see ED518589.]

This paper describes a program sponsored by Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering for high school science and mathematics teachers that includes an intensive summer workshop, post-workshop consultation and communication with the Thayer School staff and other past participants, and materials development. The program offers teachers a framework…

The goal of this interdisciplinary curriculum is to enable students to make informed and responsible decisions about natural resources management by promoting an understanding of natural, social, and economic environments and the student's role in affecting all three. The included investigations utilize processes and techniques that help people…

This resource was written to provide students with an awareness of critical issues facing the world today. In courses for college students, it can motivate their study of mathematics, teach them how to solve mathematical problems related to current global issues, provide coherence to mathematical studies through a focus on issues of human…

Case-based learning is one method that can be used to foster critical thinking and schema construction. Students need to be provided with problem solving lessons in meaningful learning contexts for critical thinking to take place. In order for schema construction to occur, a framework needs to be provided that helps readers to elaborate upon new…

Critical thinking skills were taught to students in a lower-track freshman English class through the use of cross-disciplinary subject matter. Given a set of three transmission electron micrographs, or photographs of magnified tissue used in histology and pathology, students were asked to support their conclusions on which two of micrographs A, B,…

Environmental education is generally thought to be an approach to teaching and learning that will help students develop the knowledge, skills, and values basic to environmental problem solving. This report addresses the need for environmental education and attempts to clarify definitions of some of the efforts such as outdoor education and…

The USMES Guide is a resource book containing information about the USMES project's background, goals and hypotheses, and methods of operation. Papers on real problem solving, USMES classroom strategy, and the Design Lab manual are included; the development, implementation, and evaluation programs are described. Also included are descriptions of…

This USMES unit challenges students to recommend and try to have a new road design or a system for rerouting traffic accepted so that cars and trucks can move safely at a reasonable speed through a busy intersection near the school. The teacher resource book for the Traffic Flow unit contains five sections. The first section describes the USMES…

This USMES unit challenges students to find the best way to produce in quantity an item that is needed. The teacher resource book for the Manufacturing unit contains five sections. The first section describes the USMES approach to student-initiated investigations of real problems, including a discussion of the nature of the USMES "challenges" and…

This USMES unit challenges students to find a way to design or make changes in things that they use or wear so that there will be a good fit. The teacher resource book for the Designing For Human Proportions unit contains five sections. The first section describes the USMES approach to student-initiated investigations of real problems, including a…

This USMES unit challenges students to recommend and try to have changes made which would improve the design or use of the school's play area. The teacher resource book for the Play Area Design and Use unit contains five sections. The first section describes the USMES approach to student-initiated investigations of real problems, including a…